"Coach it's the sentimental value" - Fans react as coach shares moving story of Khabib Nurmagomedov risking UFC sponsors to use his gift

Khabib Nurmagomedov is best known for being arguably the most dominant force to ever set foot inside the octagon. 'The Eagle' retired unbeaten in 29 fights. Furthermore, he only ever lost two rounds throughout his entire career, was never knocked down, never bruised and never bled.

His success in the sport has made him the stuff of MMA legend. However, to those closest to him, Khabib Nurmagomedov is more known for his loyalty and sentimentality. Many in his circle have spoken positively of his character. This time, his former coach Javier Mendez has shared another story about his most famous pupil.

He took to Instagram, where he posted a seemingly insignificant picture of Khabib Nurmagomedov wearing what appears to be Reebok headgear. However, the context of the picture changes everything. According to Mendez, the headgear was actually made by Everlast, and it was given to Nurmagomedov back in 2012.

The UFC Hall of Famer liked the gift so much that he continued wearing it even after the UFC barred fighters from wearing non-Reebok gear in public. To counter this, Nurmagomedov taped over the Everlast logo with a Reebok one, risking his sponsorship with the brand as well as the UFC's ire.

This drew fans to the post's comments section, with one fan claiming that 'The Eagle' never wore any other headgear:

"Lol he never got rid of this one, too many sparrings wearing the blue head gear"

Another fan praised Nurmagomedov's well-known loyalty:

"Loyalty is unmatched"

One fan opined that it's the sentimental value of the headgear that caused Nurmagomedov to cling to it:

"I think.coach its the sentimental value why he loves it."

Meanwhile, a Nurmagomedov fan account asked about the headgear's whereabouts:

"Where is it coach?"

Check out a collage of fan reactions below:

Fan reactions

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What did Tony Ferguson recently say about Khabib Nurmagomedov?

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson were scheduled to fight each other five times. Unfortunately for fight fans, something always came up to cause the bout's cancelation, whether that be injury, a botched weight cut or a global pandemic. However, their careers later diverged.

Nurmagomedov retired as the undefeated, undisputed lightweight champion. Meanwhile, Ferguson is now on a six-fight skid. In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, 'El Cucuy' spoke about how desperately he wanted to compete with Nurmagomedov and how a piece of him left once his rival retired.

His words were as follows:

"When Khabib left, a little part of me left with that."